1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors having female terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 6 shows a conventional electrical connector having a plurality of terminals arranged in rows. The electrical connector 50 includes a housing 52 and a plurality of male pin terminals 51 arranged in three rows in a cavity 53 of the housing 52. A mating connector (not shown) is fitted into the cavity 53 and has a plurality of female terminals for connection with the male terminals 51. The female terminals have flexible sections with contact portions for resilient contact with the male terminals 51.
As the number of terminals in a row increases, the width of the connector increases, and there is a increasing danger that terminals are damaged when the mating connector is plugged into the cavity 53 of the connector 50. Especially, the female terminals are less rigid than the male terminals and susceptible to deformation, resulting in poor or no contact of the contact sections.
To prevent such damage, columns 54 and protruded walls 55 are provided within the cavity 53 of the housing 52 for guiding the mating connector to prevent damage to and/or deformation of the terminals, especially the female terminals.
Japanese patent application Kokoku No. 53755/91 and Japanese UM patent Kokai No. 88076/94 disclose such connectors. The former discloses columns provided within the cavity of the housing while the latter discloses protruded walls.
In the above connectors, however, it is impossible to dispose terminals in the areas where the columns and/or protruded walls exist, making the connector larger and failing to meet a recent demand for miniaturization.